It is often seen as inevitable that a patient, having undergone a total hip replacement (at least on the femoral side of the joint), will at a later point in life have to undergo a revision operation. Furthermore, even a revision hip may later need to be further revised. The outcome of each revision surgery typically results in lower quality of life for the patient.
One possible reason the revision may be needed is due to the development of an osteolytic lesion between the implant and adjacent healthy bone. These lesions or bone voids, which are often soft and spongy and not supportive of the implant, can cause a well-fixed implant to loosen. To treat this situation, the old implant is removed, the lesion cleaned out by debriding the local area, and then a larger “revision” implant put in.
This phenomena of osteolytic lesions can occur in many other body locations where implants have previously been implanted, e.g., humerus, tibial plateau (knee), distal femur (knee), acetabulum, etc. Accordingly, the need to treat osteolytic bone lesions after joint replacement surgery can be widespread.
Therefore, there is a continued need for improved treatments for osteolytic lesions. Accordingly, there is room for improvement within the art.